Cliff Lee Walks Career High, Cy Westbrook Shuts Down Phils Offense

Cliff Lee Walks Career High, Cy Westbrook Shuts Down Phils Offense

The slump isn't quite over… The Phils lost their third straight on Monday night—the first time they've lost three in a row so far this season. Cliff Lee looked human although not altogether terrible, giving up a career-high six walks on the way to a 3-1 Phils loss to the Cardinals. He pitched just 6.1 innings, giving up three runs against four Ks. So far on the season, Lee's at a 3.84 ERA.

And yet, the walks are the easy storyline because they're the only difference in the daily routine lately. The Phillies offense was again nearly impossible to find.

Jimmy Rollins had the only multi-hit night for the Phils, although Ryan Howard drew three home-cooked walks (incidentally, the only walks given up by Cardinals pitching on the night). Jake Westbrook limited them to four hits and a lone earned run, easily one of his better starts of the season. If you want the comfy line, rest on a tight strike zone called by Gerry Davis and the fact that the Phillies fielded a starting group that included Wilson Valdez, John Mayberry Jr, Ben Francisco, and Pete Orr.

The highlight of the night for me was Michael Stutes coming into a pressure-cooker situation in the bottom of the seventh. Nick Punto had singled himself on, then got sac'd over by Kyle Lohse. A bit of fun at the expense of a pair of pre-WFCs. After a Ryan Theriot walk, Jon Jay singled in Punto and moved The Riot up to second. Due up—with one out—was Albert Pujols. Matt Holliday was in the on-deck circle.

Clifton Phifer's night was done, and Stutes came in. Immediately, I was more interested than I'd been at any point in the game. Would this be an unraveling point or a proving ground?

Stutes got the best hitter in baseball to to ground into a double play, safely stranding a pair of runners with Holliday on his way back to get his glove and hat.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a winning relief appearance. The Phils failed to scratch out more than a hit against Eduardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas, earning every bit of their 3-1 loss. The Cards hadn't given up less than six runs in their previous three outings.

Not a great night for watching baseball. Not a bad night for being like, HEY… I didn't get my full weekend's worth of drinking in, I'ma hit the big beers and a scotch on a Monday. Fortunately there are a few games left in the season.

Harden also had 12 assists and nine rebounds to help the Rockets win their fifth straight. Houston withstood Harden's 6-for-23 shooting effort.

Westbrook finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He has the longest triple-double streak since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989. The most in a row is nine by Philadelphia's Wilt Chamberlain in March 1968.

It was Westbrook's 12th triple-double this season and the 49th of his career. He is the NBA's active leader in the category and ranks sixth all-time.

The Thunder had won the previous six games during Westbrook's triple-double binge (see full story).

James moves into 9th on scoring list as Cavs top Heat 114-84CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 27 points to move into ninth place on the NBA scoring list, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat 114-84 on Friday night.

James passed Elvin Hayes on a driving layup with 6:58 remaining and has 27,315 career points. The four-time MVP was removed about a minute later and received a loud ovation from the Cleveland crowd.

Kevin Love, a game-time decision because of back spasms, scored a team-high 28 points and had 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers. He missed the morning shootaround but was in the lineup after warming up on the court about an hour before tip-off.

Kyrie Irving added 23 points for the Cavs, who have won three straight after losing three in a row.

Derrick Williams scored 17 points to lead the short-handed Heat, who have lost four straight (see full story).

Schroder has career-high 33, Hawks rally past Bucks 114-110MILWAUKEE -- Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 33 points and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from 20 down in the second half to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-110 on Friday night.

Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had goals for the Oilers, whose four-game losing streak began with a 2-1 home overtime loss to the Wild last Sunday.

Staal scored on a backhand deke before Nugent-Hopkins fired wide in the sixth round (see full story).

Raanta, Rangers beat Blackhawks 1-0 in overtimeCHICAGO -- Nick Holden scored 55 seconds into overtime, Antti Raanta made 26 saves against his former team and the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on Friday night.

Derek Stepan passed from the boards to a streaking Holden in the middle of the ice, and he beat Scott Darling on the stick side for his fourth goal of the season.

Darling was going for his second straight shutout while subbing for injured starter Corey Crawford but had to settle for another solid performance.

Raanta, who made his NHL debut with Chicago in 2013 and played for the Blackhawks for two seasons before he was traded to New York, improved to 15-0-3 in 20 career appearances at the United Center.

The 27-year-old Raanta had 17 saves in Thursday's 2-1 victory at Winnipeg, and coach Alain Vigneault opted to give him a second straight start over Henrik Lundqvist because of his recent play and his success in Chicago (see full story).

Jakub Vrana and John Carlson also scored, helping Washington beat Buffalo for the third time in 15 days.

Kyle Okposo scored and Robin Lehner made 25 saves for Buffalo. The Sabres have lost three of their last four.

Oshie gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead 6:43 into the second period when he lifted a shot from the right edge of the crease past Lehner. Jay Beagle drew two defenders into the corner and sent the puck back to a wide open Oshie for his ninth goal of the season (see full story).